Navy to carry out rare exercise over Sea of Japan

10 November 2017, 01:09 | Kara Nash

Letter: Just say no to war

The drill will involve the USS Nimitz, the Ronald Reagan, the Theodore Roosevelt and their accompanying warships, the first time three United States aircraft carrier strike groups have exercised together in the region in a decade.

Trump also noted that the three USA aircraft carriers "are appropriately positioned" near the Korean Peninsula.

While at sea, the US strike force will conduct air defense drills, sea surveillance, defensive air combat training and close-in coordinated maneuvers, among others.

"It is a rare opportunity to train with two aircraft carriers together, and even rarer to be able to train with three", said Adm. Scott Swift, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander.

It is the first time since 2007 that the Navy has carried out this type of exercise in the western Pacific.

The presence of three aircraft carrier strike groups in the area was also mentioned in President Donald Trump's speech in South Korea, the second leg of his five-nation tour of Asia that drew both supporters and anti-war protesters.

Last August, North Korea's Strategic Force was quoted by the regime's official Korean Central News Agency as having reported an operational plan for attacking waters near the island to leader Kim Jong-un. "And do not try us", Trump warned North Korea during his Tuesday speech.

"All relevant sides should exercise restraint, avoid irritating each other, dedicate themselves to lowering the tense situation on the peninsula, and at the same time make positive efforts to get the North Korean nuclear issue back on a track to a resolution via talks", Ms Hua said, reiterating China's long-held position.

The statement did not rule out North Korea, who previously threatened to fire ballistic missiles off Guam, an American island in the Western Pacific, which hosts strategic USA military bases.

Shim added that Trump's way of pursuing foreign policy objectives through the support of naval power is a type of "gunboat diplomacy".

Trump though tried to avoid his earlier threats to North Korea, was clear in his vows to counter aggravations with military force, according to the CNN. This is a very different administration than the US has had in the past.

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